Are you always hungry? Nutritionist reveals 5 reasons for your insatiable appetite

ISLAMABAD: No matter how good your intentions when hunger strikes it can be almost impossible to resist.

Just hours after tucking into a meal, be it breakfast lunch or dinner that uncontrollable urge to raid the fridge can become overwhelming.

But why are you always hungry?

And what could you change in your diet to stave off the munchies and help lose weight?

Head Nutritionist Shona Wilkinson at NutriCentre reveals five key reasons why many of us have the urge to over indulge.

Eating a carbohydrate heavy meal the night before can be a reason for feeling hungry the next day even after eating.

When we eat lots of carbohydrates in one sitting they are absorbed quickly into the body as sugars. This spike of sugars (glucose in particular) in our blood causes a surge of insulin to be released the hormone that stimulates our cells to take up glucose.

As all the sugar is quickly removed from the blood this triggers hunger and more carbohydrate cravings.

You might even wake up with cravings in the night if this happens.

To avoid this happening it is best to avoid refined carbohydrates and choose meals containing a moderate amount of unrefined carbohydrates.

Think sweet potatoes, brown rice, or quinoa, combined with a good portion of protein such as a piece of fish or chicken and a big serving of non starchy vegetables such as broccoli or other green veg.

This will allow those carbohydrates to be digested and absorbed more slowly keep you fuller for longer and won't cause the surge of insulin that makes your blood sugar drop.

Not getting enough sleep may have a direct effect on how hungry we feel and how much we eat.

Short sleep duration has been found to reduce levels of a hormone called leptin which inhibits hunger and increase levels of the hormone ghrelin which stimulates hunger.

This is one reason why poor sleep may lead to weight gain too.

Magnesium is needed to relax our muscles which in turn can help us fall into a peaceful sleep.

Sometimes that feeling of overwhelming hunger is in fact the body’s way of telling you you’re thirsty

We feel like we’re craving something and interpret this as hunger when actually all we need is a glass or two of water.

Water is also needed in order for our cells to make use of the nutrients in the food that we eat and lack of nutrient availability causes our body to crave more food.

This is another reason to make sure you’re drinking water throughout the day and not just when this craving strikes.

Drinking water between meals also generally makes us feel fuller and can help to manage our appetite.

It’s important however not to drink lots of water immediately before, during or after a meal this dilutes the digestive juices and can have a negative impact on our digestion.

To help balance your blood sugar levels and manage these cravings it’s essential to focus on eating protein containing foods with each meal (fish, meat, eggs, pulses, nuts and seeds) and minimise your intake of processed and refined carbohydrates and sugars.